Blog Articles

By Diane Ripstein

Your Body Language Is Leaking!

by Diane Ripstein • May 4, 2023

We Tend To Focus on what we’re saying when we’re in presentation mode. And we spend most of our prep time working on the verbal content. The words. The message. The analysis or update. But The Visual is also a big part of the mix. And I don’t just mean what we look like. It’s [Read More…]


So Many People!!??

by Diane Ripstein • April 5, 2023

How Come It’s Harder to present to a group versus to an individual? Or to a large audience versus a small one? I’ve Been Hearing This Question a lot from clients recently. Someone who feels totally at ease in a more relaxed setting (say…a fireside chat kind of interview) may freeze up with discomfort in [Read More…]


Diane In Action: Opening!

by Diane Ripstein • March 8, 2023

To Open… Every presentation begins anew; every interaction is a fresh start. Even at the most basic Monday morning weekly team meeting, it’s still a new day. Folks have had a good (or difficult) weekend; everyone’s starting from a different place. The very best thing you can do as the presenter is to open with [Read More…]


It’s Heart Time!

by Diane Ripstein • February 14, 2023

Local Factoid I remember the iconic NECCO (New England Confectionary Company) factory building on Mass Ave (Massachusetts Avenue for out-of-towners) in Cambridge. You couldn’t live in the area and not be aware of those sweet smells. This is where the ubiquitous little Valentine conversation hearts were first made in 1902. Don’t laugh…around 8 BILLION of [Read More…]


‘Tis The Season!

by Diane Ripstein • December 14, 2022

The Winter Solstice on December 21st is the shortest day and darkest time of the year. And it is out of this very deepest dark that we most need to ramp up the light. Yesss. Light those candles, lanterns, fireplaces, Yule logs, menorahs, Kwanzaa kinaras and string fairy lights. Shine things up and go for [Read More…]


Who Me, Procrastinating?

by Diane Ripstein • November 16, 2022

Why, Yes I Am Procrastinating, that is. What is it with these life lessons that we think we’ve learned? And somehow haven’t? A Client Mentioned the 80/20 Rule. He spends 80% of the time procrastinating; 20% of the time doing the actual work he spent so much time avoiding. I relate. If All Behavior Is [Read More…]


Diane In Action: Stories From The Stage

by Diane Ripstein • September 14, 2022

It’s The Same Story Just like clockwork, the calendar page turns, our New England air gets sharper (“a slice of cool” a friend calls it) and September arrives. Bingo! We’re baaaack. And whatever summer looked like or felt like to you, it’s now officially over. So sorry. And Yet It’s Different Because this year is [Read More…]


Setting The Stage

by Diane Ripstein • August 10, 2022

This Photo Was My View a few weeks ago, sitting in the front row at the outdoor stage of Jacob’s Pillow, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, waiting for the evening’s performance to begin. I knew the brilliant featured dancer (Taylor Stanley of the New York City Ballet), but I had no idea what new pieces [Read More…]


What’s Your Joy?

by Diane Ripstein • July 13, 2022

Photo Credit: Betty Stone Photography It’s Been Three Long Years since I last attended my beloved Beantown, a week-long swing dance camp focused on Lindy Hop. Sweaty, high-energy, up-close and personal couples dancing sure hasn’t been on my agenda during COVID. Is It Worth It? I did a little risk/reward analysis when Beantown announced they would [Read More…]


Speak Less; Listen More

by Diane Ripstein • June 8, 2022

These Words Are Being Typed ten days after the devastating attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas left 19 children (nine to eleven-years old) and their two heroic teachers dead. Slaughtered. There have been more than 230 mass shootings in this country so far this year. I Am Haunted by reports of multiple calls [Read More…]